Fenix Rising
by aduck1
Summary: Oneshot:  My first attempt:  It is several years after the brood war, and things have settled down.  All of this changes when the Protoss hero Fenix is suddenly brought back.  But what do the people who brought him back want?


Hey everybody. This is my first attempt, so please be somewhat kind. I am looking forward to both comments and contrustive critisism, so please R&R. Thanks.

I do not own any of the characters in this story, they belong to Blizzard. The plot is mine though.

Fenix Rising

Unknown Location

The man walked into the twilight lit room. He was a very nondescript man, if you saw him in a crowed he had nothing to make your head turn. He looked over at the other two men in the room, and sat down at their table. They also were completely normal, so much so that it wasn't normal at all.

"You have a plan?" The man on the right had a gravely rough voice, like sandpaper on wood.

"Yes I do." He reached into his brief case, and presented it all to the others. It took five minutes.

After he finished, the third man spoke. "That may cause Kerrigan to become suspicious about me. I do not want my cover blown." This voice was a soft as silk, as if to put a man at ease, yet it made everyone who heard it more nervous.

The second spoke again. "That will be no problem; we can get you reinstated into the swarm if the worst happens. Which I doubt will. This plan has my approval."

The third spoke again after a moment. "You have my approval as well."

"Excellent." The nondescript man left. It may have been a trick of the light, but his height seemed to increase, and his skin grew darker.

Warriors Refuge

High Templar Loknar patrolled the Graveyard of the Fallen. Two zealots flanked him. His mind though wasn't in his patrol. And why should it be? Ever since the survivors of Kerrigan's betrayal on Korhal had fled and founded this city, there had been little contact with the outside world.

He shuddered at the thought of Korhal. Too many brave souls lay there, work of Kerrigan's treachery. The only reason he and the rest of the Terran and Protoss survivors had gotten out was due to the fact that Kerrigan had become preoccupied with the UED assault on her hive cluster on Char.

This had allowed the remnants to regroup and flee from the lifeless desert. Their ships, weakened and barely functioning had crashed on this rocky planet. It was only due to extreme luck that the 1 million survivors hadn't perished then.

They had found the remains of a long destroyed mothership. It appeared that the great ship had landed and been abandoned. An earthquake appeared to have caused the great ship to crack, and split into chunks. Yet the core of the ship, "Adun's Sprit", still retained power. Now the remains were the heart of this impressive city, powering and cloaking everything.

And peace reined. The Terrans, mainly former Dominion Troops mixed with a few Raiders, lived in one half, and the Protoss survivors in the other. Despite the former's general view of Protoss, these ones lived well in harmony. All had two things in common, they hated death and they hated Kerrigan. The city was a hybrid of the two races, powered by PSI energy and capable of flight and warp capabilities.

Despite the peace that reigned both around this planet and the sector, everyone here was a warrior. As a result, when the drums of war were pounded again, they would join the fight, ready to cut down the Zerg.

Right now, Loknar was thinking about the upcoming Pro Bowl Game. It had been modified slightly so the Terrans could participate as well. Terran marines in full combat armor (needed so they could be on par with protoss speed and strength) went against unarmored zealots. The two sides had no weapons save their hands, and would fight to get the probe to the opponent's side. First one to do it scored.

The last (and only) two games the Protoss had won, though the last had been a fluke. An earthquake, just strong enough to topple the advancing Terrans, who were pulling out neat tricks, as well as some new armor, allowing the Protoss to score. The next game was tomorrow, and despite injuries, it was the favorite sport.

As he continued his patrol, Loknar was reminded of why his team was called the Phoenixes. There at the center of the graveyard where two monuments. One was to General Edmond Duke; the other was the shell of the dragoon that Fenix used to reside in. The shell had been recovered during the evacuation, and repaired in Fenix's honor.

Because he wasn't paying attention, the first bark of the sniper rifle startled him, and took precious seconds to hear and analyze. By that time the zealot to his left had already dropped a hole in his head. The rifle barked again, and the other zealot dropped.

Using quick triangulation to guess where the cloaked ghost was, Loknar unleashed a psionic storm over the area. Or rather, he tried to, and discovered to his immense surprise that the human was resisting it.

De-cloaked, the ghost was wrestling with his mind to combat the storm. Somehow, the energy from the storm was being moved over him, so he tried to fight back…

Loknar was losing, and he knew it. So he abandoned the struggle and instead called out. {Intruder in the graveyard! Intru—ARRRRRRRR!}

The storm broke over him, psionic energy frying his muscles and charring his skin. His nerves caused him to wither in agony, as the pain was all over him. And yet, horribly, he was still alive, unable to embrace the Khala.

The ghost walked over to the fallen Templar, and Loknar recognized him. {You! Servant and consort to the Queen, be gone from-}

The infested Terran cut him off with a laugh. {Consort to the queen? No my poor, poor Protoss, she was my consort. She has no clue what I am, and neither do you.} With that the man reached into his bag, and pulled out an orb. It had runes covering its pale blue exoskeleton, and looked like it had a softer shell underneath it.

{You dare defile the gift of the Xel'Naga? You shall pay for your transgressions.}

{I doubt that will happen.} The orb began to glow, the inscriptions taking a fiery red as their new color. It should have been impossible.

As the orb grew brighter, the city grew darker. Eventual, almost all the power was out, the psionic matrix failing. And then, Loknar felt his soul embrace the Khala. Yet as his went up, another came down…

The man looked at his handiwork with pride. It had gone well, stage one was complete. Three more items were left behind. One was stolen from the Confederacy, an active psi emitter. Another was the now dead orb. The final was one sentence, made to look as if the Templar had written it in his own blood: "There are two temples." He boarded a vessel never seen before by the current species in this sector, and left. And behind him, the Dragoon awoke once more, its former owner forcibly returned to its cold skeleton.

Fenix had risen again.

Char, Primary Hive cluster.

The Queen of Blades felt it. That irresistible pull for her and her minions. It lasted a full five minutes before being shut off.

{So someone wants to challenge me? Izsha, send my Beta Brood out. I want these challengers dealt with, and make sure to test out the new strains that Abathur has been working on.}

{By your command my Queen.}

Kerrigan grinned, and waited for the images of slaughter to fill her head.

Warriors Refuge

He felt cut off, drained. It was like someone had taken all of his energy and siphoned it off, and the rest had been poured into a bottle. What he had just lost, he could not describe. It made him sad, and made him wonder if the Zerg swarm had the same feeling he did.

Zerg. He hated them. Being killed twice tended to justify those feelings. Still, where was he? He could feel the Khala around him, weaker than before, and the cold shell of his dragoon. Using the ocular sensors, he saw a dark area. All around him were buried dead, many Terrans. That was odd, what was he doing here? Also there were…

He hurried over to the bodies, his mechanical legs clanking with the effort. With surprise Fenix realized this was his custom dragoon, the one he had died in on Korhal. This made no sense, nor did the words written by the dead Templar. "There are two temples." To paraphrase the Terrans, what the Hell did that mean?

His hearing sensors alerted him to the newly arrived presence of several Terrans, one of them being a ghost. "Halt, who are you?" Three, including the ghost, raised their guns at him while the other marines checked the bodies. The lights on their suits lit up the area a little, but it was still dark.

Fenix was unsure of how to proceed. On the one hand, despite having the Dominion symbol on their armor, they weren't shooting. On the other, he had no idea what was going on, and wasn't sure if mentioning his real name was for the best.

"I'll ask you again, identify yourself."

"I am-"

Fenix was cut off by another marine. "Wait sir, he couldn't have done this. These zealots were killed by a single shot to the head, sniper round. Pour bastards didn't even have a chance to warp out to become dragoons. I have no idea what happened to the high Templar, although I swear it was like a psi storm hit him. And look, someone stole Fenix's dragoon."

The ghost uncharacteristically swore. "Damn bastards. Whoever did this is going to piss of the executor…"

"What will piss me off?"

Fenix turned to see a Dark Templar, flanked by two high Templar. Fenix was shocked to recognize him as Dark Templar Artenaes, who had served under him during the fight on Korhal.

"Well, executor, it seems some ghost murdered two of your men and made off with Fenix's dragoon. On top of that, the High Templar looks like he was killed by a psionic storm."

The executor seemed to be in thought. Before Fenix could speak he was again cut off, this time by lights flooding the area. "Finally the power is back on…whoa! I found your missing dragoon."

Suddenly everyone was looking at him, the two High Templar knowing in an instant that the shell of his Dragoon was inhabited. {Thief! Identify yourself! How dare you transgress that which belonged to Praetor Fenix?} The two High Templar assaulted his mind through the Khala.

"I did not steal my own body back!"

Shocked silence greeted his words. Then Artenaes stepped forward. "Praetor Fenix?"

"Yes, it is me. Somehow, I have returned again. Now, I know nothing since the point I died on Korhal, until I was returned five minutes ago. As such, I am willing to submit my mind to be scanned for proof, and then I would like to know what has happened."

Artenaes nodded at the two High Templar, who probed his mind again, this time with less force. They looked around for a few seconds, and then withdrew. {It is true. This is Praetor Fenix.} The awe was not lost in the Psionic communication.

Suddenly one of the marines said "Hey. What's that thingy?" He was pointing to a rotating object. An object that horrified Fenix.

"It's an active PSI emitter!" With that, the dragoon shot the machine to pieces with one blast of his disruptor cannon.

There was something else there. Artenaes saw it as well, and picked it up. "It is one of the four orbs! I recognize it, this is the North one. It was supposed to be in a vault in Shakuras. What is it doing here?"

{I wonder…could it have been used to bring Praetor Fenix back?}

"That makes no sense; it should take all four of the orbs, plus the temple."

At this point one of the marines interrupted. "Ah, clueless Terrans here want to know what you all are talking about. You know, so we don't feel stupid and all."

Fenix turned his body around again. "This orb was one of four created by the Xel'Naga. They were used to activate the first temple, marking the spot where they landed on Auir. When the temple was activated, a Protoss could trade his life for one lost. When this was realized centuries later, the Conclave confiscated the orbs. Only those with worthy causes could enter, generally parents who had lost their child to some tragic accident. Three orbs were lost during the invasion of Auir. This is the fourth, and was last on Shakuras."

Next to him Artenaes whispered "There are two temples. That is what Loknar wrote. Do you think he means that there was a second?"

The ghost suddenly spoke. "Wait, you said this temple was created where the Xel'Naga first landed on Auir? Well if there was a second one, it would make sense that it was built on the Zerg home world."

There was a sharp intake of breath at those words. "If Kerrigan got her hands on that temple, and one more orb…" There was no need to finish the sentence. Then "Most of this still doesn't make sense. What was the emitter doing here? How did Loknar know of the second temple? How were you brought back?"

Fenix turned to his friend. "It matters not. What does matter is that the emitter had undoubtedly drawn the Queen's attention. We must get ready."

"You are right. While we head to the command area, I will fill you in on what has happened…"

Hyperion

Raynor had stopped counting the bottles after 3. That was all he could count to, past that, he just didn't care. His battered reflection stared at him in a murky, elongated fashion. His hair was unkempt, his face sagging. It had been three years since the end of the Great War. Three years since everything had gone to Hell, again.

He looked up at the door opening. In stepped Matt Horner, his second in command. He saw a little of himself in the kid, before the universe had opened his eyes. "What's up Matt?"

"There's someone on the comn who I think you should see." Sighing, Raynor stood and half walked, half staggered down the hall to the bridge.

He settled down into the captain's chair, running his hands through his head. "Put it on screen." The image of an old protoss dragoon filled the monitor.

"Who is it, and what do you want?" Raynor was too tired, and drunk, to be diplomatic.

"Well, friend Raynor, I admit this wasn't the welcome I was quite expecting." The voice, its cold, metallic notes, was about as effective at snapping him out of his drunken haze as if Matt had dumped a bucket of cold water over his head.

"Fenix, is that you?" He didn't believe it yet. He wasn't sure, but something told him that his friend was back.

"Yes indeed. It seems the Khala has decided that I should return again. I am in need of your assistance."

"Tell me what happened and what you need." Raynor listened as Fenix spun his tail. And in the background, Matt smiled. He could already see it in his commander's eyes. Raynor was back, and nothing was going to stop him.

Warriors Refuge

What had happened in the last three years had shocked Fenix. Or rather, the things that had not happened. Kerrigan's enslavement of Raszagal and the destruction of the UED did not take him by surprise. What had taken him by surprise was the lack of action in part of the swarm.

Both the Protoss and Terrans had made great bounds in terms of technology. The deceptively small sentries and the powerful immortals, as well as the shadowy stalkers were a part of the force. There was talk of improving the weapons of the fleet, but nothing had happened yet.

The Terrans had also improved. These new marauders were much stronger suits than that of marines, and could deliver a much more powerful attack. On the flip side, these new reapers were lightly armed and armored, but their jet packs allowed for incredibly fast speeds. In fact, speed seemed to be the theme of the Terran improvements. Hellions were mobile firebats, and cobras were anti-armor firing vehicles.

Unfortunately, this begged the question of how had the Zerg evolved. Fenix knew he would find out that answer soon.

Right now he was near the center of the destroyed mothership, in its still functioning core. It was a beautiful thing. The core was slowly restarting; the process was expected to take about 12 hours. Until then, they would need all the help they could get. Even after that, they would need to link with a star chart in order to jump.

Right now he was part of the defense council, who were discussing the preparations for the coming battle.

"We have mined what we can, and have pulled back to the relative safety of the city. The stockpiles should last us plenty of time. The command centers have been turned into cannons…" The Terran, who Fenix had learned was called Anasazi Sheridan, was the leader of the Terrans. He had been talking for the last 15 minutes, and that was after Executor Artenaes had given his plans on defense.

It was boring. He longed for combat, to see his enemies trampled beneath his feet and destroyed in righteous battle. Finally the commander wrapped it up by asking "So Artanis us unable to send us any support?"

"No, he has to deal with the traitor Ulrezaj. Apparently the mad Dark Archon has attacked a preserver, and they are trying to get her to safety. He is much stronger than he should be."

No one had even suggested asking the Dominion for help, they knew what the answer would be. Emperor Mengsk did little to disguise his hatred, and fear, of aliens. In the end, the only group available to help was Raynor and his men. It would be glorious to wade onto the field of battle with his friend again.

This preparing for war had never been Fenix's idea of a necessary thing. He preferred to press quickly and hard into the enemy. It was this tendency that held him at Praetor, rather than Executor. He was at his best when fighting head first against opponents.

Finally everything had been said, and plans had been made. People were getting up and leaving, causing him to head towards Artenaes.

"That must have been boring for you, Fenix."

"Indeed. I hunger for battle, and choke on plans."

Artenaes nodded at that. "However, I assure you what you will see next will be well worth the wait." The Dark Templar stretched out his hand, a gesture he had learned from the Terrans. "This way."

The two walked together through the poorly lit city. Almost all available energy was going to defenses leaving the lighting and other things underpowered, or completely unpowered. This lack of light did not bother the Protoss, they easily adjusted. At first there was silence, and then…"So, what was it like?"

Fenix had expected the question. In fact, he was rather surprised it hadn't been asked before. "It was…beautiful. Joyful. There is simply no way to describe it. If your void is even a quarter as happy as I was, then you will experience joy far beyond what is possible in mortal life. I am afraid I can't explain it better; there is simply no way to."

They walked in silence for a time, then "Are you happy to be back, or would you rather be one with the Khala again?"

This question did catch Fenix off guard. After a moment he answered. "I would be lying if I said I didn't miss the embrace of the Khala, and if I said I was happy to be back. Part of my, a large part of me, wants to rejoin my fallen brethren. Yet since I am here, I will serve to the best of my abilities."

They came near a building. "Here is our destination. It where we forged our new immortals." As if to mark his words, one of the hulking titans walked past it the two. Fenix looked at the guns mounted on its Chassis.

"You were right. This will be worth the wait."

Angle Moon

The city was soon spotted by the overseers. It had taken precious time to reach the moon, but the swarm had arrived. Plans were made to assault the combined city, which was armed and ready. Overlords descended onto the barren moon. Hive clusters were established, creep was spread. Beta Brood marshals its forces, and prepares to attack. And on a distance molten world, one command was given: Attack!

Warriors Refuge

Fenix felt top heavy. These new guns, though very powerful, were also much heavier. Though his dragoon shell could take the wait, he could no longer achieve his previous speed. He instinctively rebelled against this, as a zealot, one was supposed to maintain speed over strength, as it doesn't matter how hard you hit if you can't connect.

Still, he looked forward to using them on the field of battle. And that time was rapidly approaching…

The city had only one ground entrance, located on the edge of a cliff above a jagged gorge. This created a natural chokepoint, one that the architectures had purposely exploited. Still, Zerg flyers could land all over the city, so the army had been split into two sections. One was highly mobile, and tasked with keeping the airborne threat away, as well as preventing ground troops from landing. The other was rather immobile, and would deal with the chokepoint.

Fenix was part of the latter. Rows of bunkers were behind rows of supply depots and photon cannons. Siege tanks were in the far back, and he, along with other immortals as well as High Templar and sentries, were between the bunkers and the siege tanks.

Suddenly a Terran called out "Contacts on the radar, lots of them. Here they come."

At this point a ghost de-cloaked. It was the same one he had seen in the graveyard. "Ok, boys listen up. Kerrigan and her Zerg think they can win. They think they are unstoppable. Today, we prove them wrong. Today, we hold for one hour, and then we leave, proving that nothing can crush us. That no matter how ugly and evil the Zerg become, their scum cannot touch us. Let's rock!"

"UHRAHHH!"

The Terrans cheered, and readied for battle. Fenix charged up his cannons. In the distance, hidden by the darkness, the enemy approached. And then they screamed, and burst into the light.

"KEEEEEEE!" The zerglings charged forward, their wings adding speed.

"Take 'em out!" Siege tanks fired, devastating their ranks. Guns opened up, and the land bridge became a slaughterhouse. It was devastating on the horde of enemies. Fenix's cannons barked, ripping zerglings apart.

One zergling, propelled high by a siege tank blast, flew over the lines of defense and landed next to Fenix. It was already dead, except it didn't quite know it yet. Its limbs twitched feebly, and its one function eye had a sort of curious glint to it. It was as if the creature knew it was dying, and couldn't quite wrap its head around that idea. Fenix lowered his cannons at the dying Zerg. "Send the regards of Praetor Fenix to your queen." His cannons fired once, utterly destroying the creature.

The rest of the swarm had died off; the only signs of damage to the allies were scratch marks on the supply depots. "That was easy!" Others seemed to share this assessment.

The ghost was obviously aware of what had happened. "That was just a test run. Ready yourself for the real assault." There Terrans immediately began to ready themselves. The storm had yet to break.

Char

"My queen, you should see the battle footage. Especially this part."

{Show me.}

Images of death and blood filled her mind. It was boring, even with a few new technologies being shown. It was only until Kerrigan reached the scene Izsha had marked as important. "Send the regards of Praetor Fenix to your queen."

Kerrigan, the self-styled Queen of Blades, fell into a blood rage. {"He dare come back? He dare challenge me? He shall pay for his insolence!"} In her rage, she tore into some of the nearby Zerg. It wasn't so much that it was Fenix as it was that he was back. And that he dared challenge her with a PSI emitter. It should not have been possible.

Then Izsha spoke again. "My queen. Your spy aboard the Hyperion has reported. Raynor has set course for Fenix, with the intent of rescuing him."

Her rage evaporated with that. Plans filled her head, ways to torment Raynor some more. It was her favorite sport; she knew he still loved the pathetic human she once was. It was fun stripping him of this love and turning it into hate. Fenix's death last time had been a huge straw on his back. This should break him like nothing else could.

{Have the experimental strains go forth. I wanted them tested, but the city to survive. And Fenix.}

"Yes my queen."

Warriors Refuge

The next waves came in simultaneously, hitting from all sides. For Fenix, the first sign was the radar watcher yelling "Here they come! Lock and Load!"

Hideous green sacs came rolling at him, charging straight through the shells of the tanks. Some exploded on contact, the rest just kept on rolling. He watched in horror as the now obviously suicidal units collided with the supply depots, melting them down.

"Sentries, throw up your fields, keep them out!" The mechanical creatures complied. The temporary barriers were thrown up.

Next to him the ghost yelled "Stims authorized." Fire output suddenly increased from the bunkers. High Templars threw in storms for good mix. Siege tanks continued to fire; it wasn't enough. For every sac of death popped, more rolled in to take its place.

"Immortals, front and center. Pull your men out, we shall deal with this." The ghost sent him a look that Fenix knew meant that the Terran though he was crazy. This Terran would learn of the might of the Protoss.

"You heard him! Out of the bunkers" Men rushed out, some already showing the flip side to the stims. Many had uncontrolled twitches and others appeared disoriented.

"Form a line! We shall hold back the Zerg!" The barriers thrown up by the sentries failed, and the green sacs came rolling in. They closed the distance…and impacted.

His enhanced shields flew up. Normally they were poisonous to Protoss, but due to the enhanced healing chemicals housed in the dragoon shell, he and others were able to survive the radiation from the hardened shields. The green wave crashed upon the dam of protoss warriors. The dam cracked and wavered, but it held. It gloriously held, and the wave of Zerg ended in a trickle. In their haste to detonate upon him, the Zerg forces were caught up in a wave of their own destruction, the subsequent detonations destroying more Zerg as the wave rolled pack.

It was beautiful, and they should have sent for a poet.

Cheers broke out among the Terrans as SCVs were went forward to repair the line. This was broken when a tech officer said "Ah, guys. The Executor says that there are Zerg worms popping up through the ground depositing units; and the radar says were still surrounded. Now I don't see any Zerg, in the air or the ground, so do they have cloaked units?"

The tech officer's question was answered when another hideous creature reared out of the ground. In fact, many followed. They were of two types, one which was heavily armored, and one which was bloated and looked like a miniature cerebrates.

Acid spit forth from both, one freezing muscles, the other just simply melting people. Screams filled the air as combat resumed.

Things were looking bad. Though Fenix was enjoying the fight, people were dying and they were dying faster than the Zerg. And then the bloated worms displayed some of their more terrifying abilities. Eggs popped out of their backs. From them infested Terrans hatched, shooting up the area.

Then one looked straight at him. A cord extended from its back, and before he could fire, it latched on.

Pain. It consumed him. He felt a presence run through his mind, and then a voice filled his head. {Ah, my naive foolish Praetor. Did you really believe you could challenge my swarm? Even with your shiny new toys, your forces are nothing before mine. Did you truly believe my banelings died assaulting your shields? No, I ordered them to commit true suicide so I could show you just how pathetic you are.}

Fenix struggled with his mind as he watched his cannons turn against his will, pointing towards another Protoss. {If we are so weak, why have you not moved out to crush us?}

{Because I like to play with my food before I eat it. And the Swarm will consume you. Now, let's see what you are trying to hide from me in your mind from me and my infestor. I would like to have read every one of your secrets before I have you send your own brethren to the Khala.

Oh, what's this? You didn't activate the PSI emitter, and have no idea how you came back. Well, I am surprised. The emitter seemed like a bull head maneuver worthy of you, or Duke for that matter. Oh now this tidbit of your mind is tasty.

Well, well, well. We have a temple capable of reincarnation. This will be useful. And the location would be on Zerus, and it would be where-}

The link was destroyed, and Fenix saw the infestor burning to a crisp. Above was a welcome sight: The Hyperion. "Howdy boys, I hear you could use a hand."

Char

The Queen of Blades was slightly annoyed. She had almost grasped her prey, but had instead been left with a large chunk. Maybe it was time to stop playing. Still, she had learned enough. {Izsha, prepare the Leviathan.}

"Yes my Queen."

Hyperion

"Matt, continue firing on those worms. We need to take them out so the city can lift off."

"Already on it sir." Raynor continued to look at the ground display when more alarms began to flash. "Sir, we have an incoming wave of Zerg flyers."

"Show me."

The crew collectively gasped. Hundreds, no thousands of Zerg flyers were streaming in, far too many to hold. "Get me the Executor."

Matt nodded and Executor Artenaes face filled the screen. "En taro Adun friend Raynor."

"En taro Adun Executor Artenaes. Listen, there is a huge force of Zerg flyers that will be here in under five minutes. You have to jump now."

"We can't do it, we don't have enough power…give us half an hour-"

"By that time we will all be dead. It is now or never."

"Very well. Commence liftoff."

Raynor looked outside the window. The whole city seemed to shudder, and then, it rose. It was an amazing sight, this city flying in the air.

"Linking nav unit to yours, Raynor. Ours was damaged during a power outage. Give us a destination."

Raynor paused for a few seconds to think. "Matt, get us to the Andromeda star. It has no planetoids, and is close to protoss space."

"Done sir. All hands prep engines and brace for warp jump on my mark." Matt raised a wristwatch to his face. It was the only antique he had, and Raynor knew it was an heirloom. It was a quirk of Matt's one of his few. "Mark."

The familiar tug of warpspace pulled him in.

Hyperion, several hours later

The odd group sat, or stood in some cases, in the conference room of the Hyperion. Executor Artenaes was speaking. "The damage was less than we had feared, but more than we had hoped. The crystal is fractured and leaking energy. The city must be…abandoned."

"I'm sorry to hear that, I wish there was something we could do. I'll contact Artanis; he should be able to send some ships to evacuate you and your people."

"Thank you friend Raynor."

The ghost stood up. "What about me and my men. We can't go back to the Dominion, and we sure as Hell are not going to work for the Combine or the Protectorate. In short, we have nowhere to go."

Raynor looked at the man. "You could just join the Raiders."

The ghost shook his head. "I'll pass. I may no longer work for Mengsk, but I still don't like you. I will put the idea up to my men, but something tells me most won't join. Like it or not, most of us are still Dominion troopers, and while we will gladly join you in a war against the Zerg, we will not fight the Dominion. Sometimes, evils are necessary."

Raynor sighed. It half turned into a yawn. He was tired; being up for 24 hours would do that to any man.

"Well, Artanis may take your people. He took in mine during the stay at Shakuras."

The ghost sat down. "That is acceptable."

"Pardon me, but there is another more pressing issue. How did I come back, and who is pulling the strings?"

All eyes turned of Fenix. "Look at the facts. I was found with three dead Protoss, one killed by what has been conformed as a PSI storm, the other two by some kind of caliber round that you Terrans don't have. After the Templar was dead, someone used the body to write "There are two temples" in the fallen blood. After that, they "revived" me, placed a psionic emitter at my feet to draw in the Zerg, and left an orb there at that. Someone is using all of us."

"If that is true, to what purpose."

The ghost spoke up again. "Well, let's look at the facts. We have an orb, which is used to bring back dead Protoss. A power outage occurred at the same time as Fenix was revived; probably using that orb you recovered. The PSI emitter was to sic the Zerg on us, and maybe to inform Kerrigan about the orb. I'm not sure on that part. However, they defiantly wanted us to know about the second temple. The real question is if the Zerg know about it."

Suddenly a high Templar burst in. {Executor, a Zerg organism has stolen the North Orb!}

There was a shocked silence, then "She knows. We have to get there first and destroy the temple. I already know where it is."

"How?"

Raynor looked around, and then lowered his head. "I went there with the hopes of finding some sort of cure for Kerrigan. There was nothing there to help me. This was after the advents on Char during the UED incursion. I know the temple though; it looked identical to the one on Auir. I got the coordinates from Zeratul."

There was an awkward pause.

Matt jumped up. "I will upload the coordinates."

Raynor stood as well. "You do that, I am going to get some shut eye, I've been up to long. Oh and Fenix, good to have you back."

With that, the room began to empty. Fenix walked over to where Matt was going. "Matt Horner, may I have a word with you?"

The Terran turned. "Sure."

"It's about Raynor. He seems, distant, like he isn't his full self."

Matt sighed as he walked. "He isn't. Your death was a real shock to him. You remember that he loved the Terran that became the Queen of Blades? I think, until that day, he still hoped that there was some remainder of that person inside the monster. That with the Overmind gone, there was a chance for happyness again. That all died that day.

He is suffering from guilt, mainly survivor's guilt. He feels horrible for being the only one to survive so much, mainly because she lets him. He, Zeratul, and that bastard Mengsk, are the ones she keeps alive to torment. And it is working."

"I see." The two continued walking. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Just be here for him. Right now he needs to feel that he isn't the only one surviving this."

"Don't worry; I have no intention of joining the Khala soon."

The two parted at a corner. Fenix continued walking alone for a few moments, and then another Terran was behind him.

"Praetor Fenix, we need to talk."

"About what?"

"About our reason for bringing you back. Did you not expect us to contact you?"

Fenix stopped, and turned around. In front of him was a rather non-descript man. He was slightly shorter than most, and had pale skin. Other than that, he looked normal. "And you are that…benefactor?"

"One of three. We have something we need you to do." And the man spoke, explaining his plan. And Fenix's role in it.

After he finished Fenix asked "And if I refuse?"

"Then I detonate both the primary bombs and the secondary bombs, killing everyone onboard this ship, except your friend Raynor. He shall live on, a broken man, unable to find peace."

"You would die too."

The man shrugged. "That hasn't bothered me yet. So, will you do it?"

Fenix thought long and hard. "Very well. I have no choice."

"No you don't."

The two parted, and the man went on his own path.

Leviathan

Kerrigan heard her minion call to her. {My queen. I have discovered important information about a temple on Zerus.}

{I already know of the temple and it's function, and have been en route for several hours.}

There was a short pause. {I know exactly where it is.}

{Tell me.}

Hyperion.

"We have arrived. Fenix is launching a shuttle with a probe and a bomb."

Raynor had just gotten up. He was still somewhat groggy. "Good, though why did he volunteer for this mission?"

"I don't know…Sir! We have detected Zerg on the other side of the planet. Kerrigan is leading them."

"What? Recall Fenix immediately."

"Patching him through."

The face of the immortal flashed on his screen. "Fenix, pull out, Kerrigan is down there and moving on your position. Pull out now."

"I am afraid I cannot do that, friend. I have no choice in this matter."

Horner looked at him. "But you said-"

"I know what I said, and I meant it. But five minutes later I was informed otherwise by my…benefactors. I don't know who they are or what they want, and they aren't on anybody's side.

Listen to me, and listen closely. I go to embrace the Khala again, and I do it without fear. Now, friend Raynor, you must not give up hope. That which you seek may soon be presented to you. Never back down, and never give up the fight.

Horner, watch over your friend, and evacuate the docking bay. After they go off, search your ship for the second set.

I am afraid I cannot tell you more, to do so would spell your doom and death."

Matt raised the docking bay on the comn-link, while Raynor stared at his friend. "Fenix. Please don't go."

"Don't pity me my friend. Do not pity the dead. They are in a far better place. Pity the living, and pity those without love. Though it may cause you much pain now, it will become your greatest weapon. Goodbye, Friend Raynor."

The screen went blank. "Fenix, damn it. Don't do this. Don't die again."

Suddenly the ship rocked. "What the Hell was that Matt?"

"Sir, there were bombs in the hanger! We can't launch craft."

"He knew…"

Raynor was silent. Matt issued commands to the men, some quelling the fires, others looking for more bombs. All Raynor could do was watch the monitor.

Zerus.

Fenix left the craft. In front of him was the temple. The probe followed behind with the bomb. "Set it up there and arm it."

The probe complied. He stepped in, and saw four orbs in their place. Just like he had said there would be. And in the distance she approached.

Kerrigan was annoyed. Her informant was wrong about which side of this Char imitation the temple was on. And now he appeared to be dead, lost in an explosion. She strutted into the building, and saw Fenix standing there.

This was just too perfect. "You think you can beat me? I admit, you got better weapons, but they are no match for me."

The shell of a Protoss clanked slightly forward. "No, not in weapons. But I can defeat you where you are weakest…In your mind!"

Suddenly the temple thrummed with power. The orbs, which she only now noticed, glowed in great colors. Red, blue, green, gold. She saw them fuse together, and plunge into the immortal, and then saw them plunge towards her…

She braced herself. This temple was not going to consume her for another, willing or unwillingly. They color hit, and PAIN filled her head. But she fought, crying "I am the MASTER of MY body and MY mind."

Suddenly the lights collapsed. She looked and saw the now empty husk of the immortal. "Nice try Fenix. But you were wrong." Beep.

What was that? She turned, and saw a probe. Beep. And that probe was holding an object with a timer…Beep. Shit. Beep.

Kerrigan turned and, rather unbecoming of her title of queen, ran from the temple. The explosion sent her flying slightly, and she crashed into the ashy world bellow. She looked back at the ruined temple. Too bad.

"Nice try again Fenix. Now, who did you bring back?"

There was no one around. Above, the Hyperion was leaving in sadness. She would have to have all the resting places of her enemies searched.

Wasn't that a little harsh? Couldn't they just rest in peace?

No they couldn't. And Fenix proved that they could still be dangerous. She brushed away the weak thoughts, and rallied the broods. She hopped it was Tassadar; she wanted to pay him back for humiliating her on Char.

Hyperion.

Pain. That was all Raynor felt as he watched the explosion. "Matt…Take us out. I'm heading to the bar."

"Oh no you are not. You are going to sleep. You can drown in your sorrows later."

Raynor couldn't even protest as Matt wheeled him out of the room. The Hyperion left the area, and head back towards the sector. Destination: Mar Sara.

Seven Days Later, Zerus.

The three men were together again. The second spoke. "It seems your plan was only a half success Duran. While it was brilliant to realize that since the Terrans had the same power as Khali Protoss, the temple could be used to recall Sarah Kerrigan's lost soul back to the body of the Queen of Blades. Unfortunately, the Queen was to strong, and that soul is stuck. At least we can activate the backup procedure."

Duran looked around. "Yah, it was brilliant." Then his face turned to rage. "Damn it, I hate this. I hate having to work for the Xel'Naga, to bring down races that are better than those we serve. Damn it, the Xel'Naga don't deserve to live."

"I know." Alexi Stukov comforted the man. "We have known that for so long, tending to the cycle. But we have no choice. Here, though, here is where I first felt it. Where we all first felt it."

The three seemingly Terran men spoke as one. "Hope."

Emil Narud turned to the men. "Here the Overmind destroyed the corrupt Xel'Naga. Here the cycle finally has a chance to be broken. Here the species that truly deserve the stars were offered their first chance at survival."

They stood silent for a while. "We cannot disobey our directive. And they will be hard pressed to defend themselves against the Dark Voice. And since we now believe it to possibly be an Xel'Naga, we can't take action. I hope my warning to Zeratul will suffice."

"All we can do is hope. We felt the love of the Zerg, the pride of the Protoss, and the fury of the Terrans. Maybe they can weather the storm, and uncover the truth. And if they survive the hybrids, they shall face the cycle. Now, I shall begin my work with the Mobius Foundation."

Two of the men left, leaving Stukov alone. "May whatever God is out there help these races, and punish us for the crimes we have committed. We may have no choice in the matter, but that doesn't mean our hands are clean." He then left, leaving the dead world, and hope, behind.


End file.
